Metal floor construction



Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED s'rArEs PATENT OFFICE METAL FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Application March 28, 1931. Serial No. 525,915

6 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to metal floor construction and more particularly to sectional floor construction for industrial plant buildings.

In the drawing wherein is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a planview of a portion of floor in an industrial plant;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on a plane indicated by the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken on a plane indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the floor elements.

While the floor construction of the present inl5 vention is particularly adapted for industrial plant buildings which are laid a number of railroad tracks, yet it is equally well adapted for buildings in which no tracks are provided.

Referring now more particularly to the draw 20 ing, the reference character indicates parallel rails of a railroad track, which rails are secured to cross ties 11 in the usual manner. Wood spacing members or furring strips 12 are disposed upon the ties 11 and sheet metal floor elements or sections 13 are laid upon the furring strips crosswise thereof and secured in place by means of spikes 14. Similar elements 13 are secured to the floor or any other supporting base, such as furring strips, toward the outside of the rails to constitute a metal tread surface in the building. The elements 13 are all made of the same height and in order to adapt the same to rails of different heights, it is merely necessary to vary the thickness of the furring strips 12.

Each of the elements 13 is of channel shape and has an upper web 15, downwardly extending vertical side walls 16, and inturned horizontal flanges 17 which constitute a bearing surface for the element. The upper web is ordinarily convex in contour in cases where the elements 13 are to be used in conjunction with a railroad crossing as shown in the drawing, but may be horizontal when the elements are to be used merely as a flooring. In either case, the upper web is provided with a plurality of depressions 18 spaced along its center line. The bottom of each depression is provided With a bayonet or key hole slot 19 having an enlarged portion 20 at one end thereof.

In securing the floor elements 13 to their supporting base, the spikes 12 are driven through the smaller part of the key hole slots 19 and into the underlying tie 11 or floor, thereby holding the floor elements in position. The heads of the spikes rest in the depressions-below the upper plane of the web surface, thereby eliminating displacement of the spikes by traflic passing over the floor.

When occasion requires removal of the floor element, as is often necessary in industrial plants, the elements 13 need only be driven in a longitudinal direction to bring the heads of the spikes into registry with the enlarged portions 20 of the key hole slots 19. The floor elements may then be readily and quickly raised from the furring strips or floor.

Instead of employing a separate depression 18 for each key hole slot 19, a single depression may be provided extending along the center line of the web 15 and several slots 19 formed therein at predetermined intervals.

Although the foregoing description is of a detailed character in order to completely set forth the invention, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and it is to be further understood the various rearrangements of parts and modifications of structural detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A sheet metal floor element having an upper horizontal web forming a tread surface and s5 downwardly extending supporting side walls, said upper Web being provided with a depression along the center line thereof and having a key hole slot therein for the passage therethrough of securing means.

2. A sheet metal floor element having an upper horizontal web forming a tread surface and downwardly extending supporting side walls, said side Walls having their lower edge portions inturned to form bearing surfaces and said upper web being provided with a plurality of depressions spaced along the center line and having key hole slots therein for the passage therethrough of securing means.

3. A metal floor construction comprising a p1u rality of supporting base members arranged in a horizontal plane, a plurality of sheet metal channel floor elements supported by said members and arranged side by side to provide a substantially continuous metal tread surface, said 5 channel elements having downwardly extending side walls with horizontal flanges resting on said base supporting members and horizontal upper web portions being provided with a plurality of spaced depressions having keyhole slots therein for passage therethrough of securing means, and spikes passing through said holes and driven into said base supporting members, the heads 01' said spikes being disposed within said depressions below the upper plane of said tread surface.

4. In a railroad crossing, in combination, a pair of parallel rails, transverse tie members supporting the rails, shims supported by the tie members, a plurality of channel sections having upper bearing surfaces, downwardly extending side walls, and inturned flanges, the channels being disposed parallel with the rails, and the inturned flanges being seated on the shims, a plurality of depressed areas in the bearing surfaces of the channels, key hole slots in the depressed areas running lengthwise of the channel, and spikes extending through the keyhole slots of the channels, and securing the channels to the cross ties and shims.

5. A sheet metal floor element, comprising an upper web presenting a tread surface, means for supporting the upper web, and a depressed portion in the upper web, the depressed portion having a keyhole slot provided therein for receiving means for retaining the floor element in position.

6. A sheet metal floor element adapted to be spiked to a support in erecting a floor structure, comprising, an upper web presenting a tread surface, means for supporting the upper web, and a depressed portion in the upper web, the depressed portion having a keyhole slot provided therein for receiving spikes for retaining the floor element in position and for releasing the floor element from the spikes when the floor element is moved endwise thereby permitting the tearing down or assembly of a floor structure.

RAYMOND T. BELL. 

